SHA Gives Hospitals One More Month to Meet Digital Health Rules

NAIROBI, Kenya Sep 1 – Healthcare providers have been given an additional month to comply with new digital health requirements that will govern their participation in the Social Health Authority (SHA) schemes.

SHA has extended the deadline for compliance with Health Management Information System (HMIS) requirements to September 30, 2026, giving hospitals and other healthcare providers more time to configure their systems and complete the required certification and integration processes.

The extension comes as the health sector moves away from the SHA Provider Portal towards the new SHA Health Management Information System (SHA HMIS), a major component of the government’s digital health reforms under Taifa Care.

The Ministry of Health says the new system is intended to connect healthcare delivery and health financing on a common digital platform, allowing real-time patient verification, electronic claims processing, digital authentication of providers and secure exchange of health information.

In a notice dated September 1, SHA said the additional month would allow healthcare providers to complete system configuration and other compliance requirements.

Facilities experiencing technical difficulties have been directed to seek assistance from the Digital Health Agency (DHA), which has also promised support to providers that do not have the necessary systems.

But the deadline carries bigger implications for facilities than simply meeting a technology requirement.

Compliance tied to SHA contracts

SHA had earlier announced that the use of an accredited HMIS would be mandatory for healthcare providers seeking to participate in the 2026/28 contracting cycle.

Under the requirement, contracted and prospective providers must have a certified HMIS capable of meeting technical integration requirements set by SHA and the DHA.

Facilities that fail to meet the requirements risk being left out of contracting, contract renewal or continued participation in SHA-funded schemes.

The move is effectively changing how hospitals submit claims and interact with SHA.

Instead of relying on the existing Provider Portal, providers are expected to connect their own certified systems to the national digital health infrastructure.

The transition has already begun. In June, the Ministry of Health held consultations with healthcare provider associations on the migration from the SHA Provider Portal to SHA HMIS, including discussions on provider preparedness, implementation timelines and concerns raised by facilities.

By the end of June, SHA had also moved claims processing for Level Four public hospitals to the Taifa Care HMIS, with the facilities required to submit new claims through the new platform.

The requirements go beyond simply installing hospital software.

Healthcare providers are expected to use an HMIS that has been certified by the DHA and is capable of securely exchanging patient and claims information with the national health information infrastructure.

Facilities must also complete the relevant registration and certification processes and demonstrate that their systems meet prescribed technical and interoperability standards. They are expected to have appropriate data-protection and security measures, reliable connectivity and the digital infrastructure necessary for continuous communication with SHA systems.

This is underpinned by the Digital Health (Health Information Management Procedures) Regulations, 2025, which require digital health solutions used in providing healthcare services to be certified by the Agency. The regulations also provide for certification of e-health and telemedicine platforms and require compliance with prescribed digital and physical security standards.

The DHA’s technical requirements are also increasingly focused on standardising electronic claims. Its current eClaims implementation guidance requires provider systems to generate claims in prescribed formats, capture SHA or national identification details, record a patient’s SHA scheme classification and process electronic claim responses.

Push for tighter control of claims

The Ministry of Health says integrating healthcare delivery with financing should improve efficiency, transparency and accountability, while electronic claims processing is expected to speed up reimbursement and help reduce fraud.

The September 30 extension therefore gives providers a final window to bring their systems into line before compliance becomes an increasingly important condition for doing business with SHA.

For patients, the success of the transition could determine how smoothly facilities verify eligibility, seek authorisation and submit claims under the new health financing system.

For hospitals, however, the immediate challenge is ensuring that their software, connectivity, staff and internal processes can communicate with the government’s digital health infrastructure before the new deadline.

SHA has urged providers to use the extension to achieve full compliance rather than wait for another deadline.